PARIS, March 31 — In Paris, café terraces are sacred. As a go-to place for socialising and a proud part of the city’s heritage, these bistro and café exteriors are an essential experience for anyone seeking a taste of Parisian life. A recent study has measured the depth of Parisians’ attachment to this quintessential part of their city’s culture.

Rain or shine, the café terraces of Paris are never empty! Firmly entrenched as an everyday place where people go to meet up after work, hang out with friends, share a morning coffee, toast the end of the week or watch a sports match, these bistro or café frontages are such an essential part of the lives of the capital’s (and its region’s) inhabitants that it’s not uncommon to hear people ask "shall we do a terrace this evening?” This deep-rooted attachment has been measured by an Ifop survey for GHR-Paris Ile-de-France, the regional branch of a professional organisation representing cafés, restaurants, hotels and other such businesses.

During the forthcoming Paris Olympic Games, overseas visitors will inevitably make a beeline for the rattan chairs on the terrace of a café or brasserie if they aspire to sample the Parisian way of life. While international visitors usually cite the Eiffel Tower, the Champs-Élysées or Notre Dame as being synonymous with the French capital, a majority of Parisians (92 per cent) see café terraces as an asset to their city, its reputation and its image. They’re even viewed as an integral part of Parisian heritage, in the opinion of those polled. And this analysis estimates that 96 per cent of Parisians use them.

During the 2024 Olympics, summer terraces will exceptionally be allowed to stay open until midnight, and it’s safe to assume that they won’t be empty (66 per cent say they’ll be very busy). And the main reason is because a majority of Parisians (61 per cent) have decided to stay in the capital during the Games.

During the rest of the year, Parisians enjoy terraces more than other French people. In fact, more than half of those who visit them do so at least once a week, with early evening logically being the favourite time (33 per cent). All profiles of residents can be found there, but some consumers are more accustomed than others to taking a seat en terrasse. For example, almost three-quarters of 25-34 year-olds (71 per cent) visit weekly, as do men under 35 (70 per cent) and households with children (65 per cent). Given the limited space available in many of the capital’s apartments, terraces are a great alternative for getting together with friends when you don’t have enough room at home.

Terraces are seen as places to socialise, and 54 per cent of Parisians appreciate them because they enable them to catch up with friends and family. Plus, 38 per cent like the atmosphere. During the pandemic, the closure of restaurants and bars was a reminder of this profound attachment to the city’s terraces, when the rattan chairs were all piled up and everyone had to stay at home for several months. Their reopening, which took place months before restaurants welcomed back guests to interior spaces, was hotly anticipated and celebrated by Parisians eager to reconnect with a bit of normalcy via café life. — ETX Studio

The survey was conducted among a sample of 1,001 people, representative of the population living in Paris aged 18 and over, interviewed from March 7 to 13, 2024.